Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United: Player Ratings from a perfect beginning at Anfield - Anfield Index

Liverpool 4-0 West Ham United: Player Ratings from a perfect beginning at Anfield

Liverpool got their new Premier League season off to the perfect start, as West Ham were put to the sword in a 4-0 victory. First-half goals from Mo Salah and Sadio Mané set the Reds on their way in a strong first-half performance. Mané added to his tally after the break, before Daniel Sturridge got himself on the scoresheet, just 20 seconds after coming on the pitch.

Here’s how each player fared on the day.

Alisson Becker – 6/10

He wasn’t called into action too much, but he did most things that he was expected to do. Had one nervy moment in the second half, when he chipped it straight to a West Ham player, when under no pressure.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10

He started the game well, with two beautiful deep crosses and one sweetly struck free-kick. But from there, his crossing fell off a cliff. He did play a beautiful pass into the feet of Keita, to initiate the move that led to the Reds’ first goal.

Joe Gomez – 6/10

He did well in a rare competitive outing at centre-back for the Reds. He had a couple of moments where he was not on the same wavelength as Van Dijk, but there was no damage done.

Virgil van Dijk – 7/10

He was his usual calm, imperious self. There was nothing that really troubled him all afternoon, as Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez were no match for the supreme presence he was.

Andrew Robertson – 8/10

Absolutely fantastic. He carried on from where he left off at the back end of last season, as he was buzzing up and down the left flank all game. Played a beautiful low cross for Salah to open his account. He also played a nice deep cross for Milner to pull back to Mané for Liverpool’s second goal.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10

In that no.6 role, Wijnaldum was fabulous. He cleaned up loose balls in front of the back four, and was always brisk in setting the Reds on their way. He could’ve had a goal with better touches in crunch moments.

James Milner – 8/10

He was the heartbeat of that performance, along with his midfield partner. He moved across to the right flank whenever he needed to support Alexander-Arnold, and also got himself an assist.

Naby Keita – 8/10

On his Premier League debut, Keita made the best impression he could. He was a bundle of energy in the middle of the park, as he was always the Reds’ catalyst in moving forward.

Mohamed Salah – 7/10

He actually didn’t have the best game of his life, and yet, he did what he always does at Anfield. In his 20th Premier League game at Anfield, Salah scored his 20th home goal at the Reds’ home. He’ll get better with more game-time, but the start was encouraging.

Sadio Mané – 8/10

A brace for Mané, as he became the first player since John Barnes to score in three consecutive season-openers. He couldn’t miss the chance for his first goal, as Milner pulled it back to him to leave him with an empty net. His second was fortunate, as he was offside, but he swivelled beautifully to smash it past Fabianski in the West Ham goal. He was brought off in the 80th minute to a rapturous ovation from Anfield.

Roberto Firmino – 6/10

He’s still feeling his way back into this Liverpool side, after only playing two 45-minute periods in pre-season, but he looked sharp today. The typical Firmino intensity and pressing was there. But his quality on the ball was slightly missing. He could’ve had an assist in the first half, but Fabianski saved brilliantly from Salah. He got his assist after the break though, with Mané scoring beautifully from his poke forward, albeit from an offside position, meaning the goal should’ve been ruled out.

Substitutes

Jordan Henderson – 6/10

More minutes for the skipper on his return to the scheme of things, after World Cup duty.

Xherdan Shaqiri – N/A

He came on with ten minutes to spare.

Daniel Sturridge – 7/10

He came on the field, and 20 seconds later, he had the net bulging. He continued his pre-season form, when he was the Reds’ top scorer.